Rumors have abounded regarding an upcoming motion control device for the Xbox 360, purportedly codenamed "Newton" — first, a loquacious anonymous source told MTV that such a controller is in development with support from developer Rare, and next 8bitjoystick pegged patents from Gyration, the same company responsible for Nintendo's Wii remote technology, as the likely tech behind Microsoft's top-secret project.
Gyration, however, unequivocally denied yesterday that it has any such project in development with Microsoft. However, talking to Rare, Microsoft and a company called Motus revealed more items of interest regarding the "Newton" — the picture seen above is Motus' "Darwin" controller.
"There's absolutely no truth to the rumors, and I have no idea where they're coming from," said a genuinely perplexed-sounding Zac Rivera, the PR rep for Movea Inc., the company that purchased Gyration in January 2008. He added, "Gyration is working on some game-related projects, but it won't be announced until later this year, and it is not related to the Xbox 360."
However, when it comes to motion controls, Gyration is not the only game in town. Boston-based Motus also develops motion controller tech for games, and, looking into the company for possible information on the "Newton," we learned that it has an existing product on the market already called the "Darwin."
Coincidence?
Motus calls its Darwin controller "the evolution of the Wii" (Darwin, evolution, SEE WHAT THEY DID THERE?), but Motus chairman Satayan Mahajan says he's not trying to trash-talk: "We really admire the Wii; we think it's a great device. It's done a lot for us... in bringing motion sensing out to the rest of the world. Darwin offers the next generation of Wii."
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I think it's a good idea. The Wii is fun, and I think if they can make this work, it opens up many possibilities for teh sexeh box.
